[oldblues]

okay, so I am undertaking a Bugle Pro without really knowing anything. Haven't really even done any soldering in a few years now. It's going to be one mystery at a time. So, I might as well ask a stupid basic question right out of the gate: is there such a thing as "good wire" for the hookups for this sort of thing. And, if so, where would I get it?

[Andrew JC]

Welcome to AC! Check here http://stores.ebay.com/Johns-Silver-Teflon-Wire-Shop

[hagtech]

Yes, there is good wire and there is bad wire.  And it all depends on application.  For BUGLE wiring, I would suggest a solid-core thin wire (like 24awg or smaller).  Teflon insulation is great, but hey, this is just an opamp phono.  Don't expect $5000 sound out of it.  So keep that in mind as you "invest" in wire.  Many folks prefer silver.

For basic hookup wire, you can look to Cardas or Kimber (and others) or anything else nice from the specialty audiophile part stores.  If you want good but cheap, then use CAT5 (ethernet wiring).  Rip it apart and use the twisted pairs.

jh

[cfranz]

And how does that yahoo figure you should strip the wire?   

[Bill Epstein]

You can strip that wire with a knife, but more to the point, how does he get off calling it silver wire? It's silver coated copper.

Better to introduce OldBlues to Michael Percy, http://www.percyaudio.com/Catalog.pdf

My fav wires there are XLO 26ga. solid core copper teflon coated, 65 cents/foot for signal and Cardas Litz 18ga. solid copper, $23/100ft for power and everything else. The latter requires a solder pot to get the enamel off, though. Scraping is too tedious and even my 900 degree setting won't get it off with solder.

If you want real soft-annealed silver, Handmade Electronics, hndme.com has the best prices I've found.

[riffer]

I recently rewired an amp and used DH Labs silver over copper wire and was pretty happy with the results.  I might try the Cardas next, if I can locate a suitable, inexpensive solder pot.

[Bill Epstein]

Not the one I have but looks alright http://www.mcminone.com/search.asp?keyword=21-3511

[ohenry]

Don't totally ignore the ebay guy.  50 feet of 26 ga. silver-plated solid copper for $8.50.  This looks pretty good for modest projects IMO:

http://cgi.ebay.com/50-Solid-26-AWG-Silver-Plated-Wire-with-Kapton-Wrap_W0QQitemZ290154876545QQihZ019QQcategoryZ32833QQcmdZViewItem

I, too, recommend Michael Percy and Handmade for "the good stuff".

Have fun with the Bugle!

edit: typo...

[dnewman]

And, FWIW, I thought I might mention why Teflon(tm) coated copper wire
is always silver plated (or should be): to get the Teflon to even pretend to
bond to the surface of the wire, the wire needs some serious chemical
treatment.  The commercially viable treatments will corrode copper but
not silver which plates well over copper.  Net, net the cheapest route to
getting the Teflon to stay put over the copper is to first plate it with silver.
The silver is not there to make the sound more brilliant: it's to prevent
the copper from corroding.   Without that treatment, every time you go
to strip the Teflon you'll pull all the Teflon off, even if it's several feet of
wire.  (Washing the cleaners off of the copper doesn't work: it merely
slows down the corrosion process.)

And, of course, Teflon is used as it is (1) a fantastic insulator, (2) incredibly
inert [flourine REALLY covets its valence electrons], (3) unlike PVC, doesn't
give off poisonous fumes [so you can use it in plenums], and, (4) for us DIYers,
is more tolerant of overheating during soldering.

Of course, even more interesting is why you don't want gold in your solder
joints....

Dan

[tubesforever]

If you do decide on pure silver I buy my wire from A-M Systems.  They sell 99.99 percent pure silver double ground and annealed wire to the medical industry for electrodes. 

This stuff is reasonably priced and comes either bare or teflon insulated.  I can get the teflon off with a puddle of solder on my iron.

This stuff sounds extra nice and is very reasonable.  No audiophile markup!

www.a-msystems.com

[oldblues]

thanks so much for all the tips. i did go for some of the stuff from the ebay guy, since it seemed reasonable and I was overanxious. but, now that I've got some more sources to check out I may get something 'better', too. heck, I'm already way over my head, forward in all directions.

[oldblues]

ps - but, now this whole thing about wire that you can't strip is new to me. What next?!?

[DaveC113]

How about wire you never have to strip?

Jupiter cotton insulated wire has worked well for me. I've used it for ICs with good results... and you never have to strip the insulation, just cut it to length and push back the insulation a bit instead of stripping it off.

[riffer]

Not the one I have but looks alright http://www.mcminone.com/search.asp?keyword=21-3511

Thanks for the link!